Bulls Put Up A Fight In Loss To Hoyas

WASHINGTON - Here in the heart of the nation's capital, where political disciples warmed themselves footsteps away in bustling hubs to get the latest election results from network feeds, it's likely few were tuned in to Georgetown's 63-53 victory against reeling University of South Florida.

For most of the Super Tuesday evening, though, checking out that odd TV in the corner might not have been a bad idea. There would be no landslide victory on this night.

Although the loss dropped the Bulls to 1-9 in Big East play, they finally were able to sustain commendable, determined and overall gutsy performances for 40 minutes. Kind adjectives don't matter much after a tough loss, but consoling words might be of some solace to USF coach Stan Heath after enduring a ninth consecutive loss.

"We've been challenging the guys to go for a full 40 minutes," Heath said. "And we went wire-to-wire, for the most part. We can build on something here. I can't fault the effort of the way we played together. I'm proud."

Heath has every right to be pleased. As a matter of fact, for the first 12 minutes of a matchup most expected to be a blowout, USF (10-13) dominated the nation's No. 6 team. From the beginning, USF put on a ferocious display on both ends of the court and managed to temporarily stun the hardy Verizon Center gathering. When reserve forward Orane Chin's floater increased USF's lead to 22-13 with 12:55 left in the first half, the Hoyas (19-2, 9-1) seemed perplexed on both ends of the floor.

"That was our best defensive effort of the year," Heath said. "We're not seeing the 'W' behind the games, but we're seeing the team maturing."

Ignoring a height and bulk disadvantage early, the Bulls attacked the basket with aggression and relied on polished ball movement to set up open shots. After Dominique Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the half, the Bulls had a 16-6 lead and forced Hoyas coach John Thompson III to holler for his team to settle down and force the issue on defense - which it eventually did.

But even when the Hoyas attempted interchangeable trapping defenses, the Bulls produced points. Forward Jesus Verdejo, whose strained back limited him to only three minutes of play during last week's loss to St. John's, embodied USF's early intensity level. When he picked off an errant Hoyas pass, he raced the ball down court - clutched over two defenders - and made an improbable short jumper to increase USF's lead to 20-13.

Meantime, the 6-foot-9 Bulls tandem of Kentrell Gransberry and Mobalaji Ajayi managed to neutralize 7-2 Hoyas center Roy Hibbert and forward Vernon Macklin until late in the first half when USF finally cooled and Georgetown initiated its run. Led by three Hibbert baskets from up close and a 3-pointer by Jessie Sapp, the Hoyas took their first lead at 24-22 with just less than three minutes before the half. They never trailed again.

USF was held to two points in the final 8:05 of the first half.

"We just came out with intensity and didn't back down," said Gransberry, who scored four first-half points but finished with 13. "We played hard defensively. But we had some mental breakdowns and lacked some execution."

Consecutive 3-pointers by DaJuan Summers and Austin Freeman early in the second half helped the Hoyas jump to their largest lead, 37-28.

"We made progress," said Jones, who led the Bulls with 15 points and was 6-for-13 shooting. "You hate the fact that you lost, but we're definitely making progress."